How to Overcome Leadership Dead Ends
Slow traffic is always an annoyance to me, especially if I am running late. I don’t like admitting it but sometimes I fail to leave enough margin in my schedule and cut things too closely. Lack of proper planning means I either have to slow down, taking things in stride – or rush, thinking I am somehow going to recover lost time.
On one particular occasion, I did the latter. My bright idea was to take an unfamiliar short cut. I was cruising it, or so I thought, until I turned down one last street which brought me to a screeching halt. I was face-to-face with a “Dead End” sign. It was not the end of the world, but in my state of mind you would have thought so.
Within leadership we often confront parallel incidences bringing us to a dead stop. We think we are moving forward, making progress, when something unexpected happens, causing us to question ourselves, our ministries or even our calling.
Here are some Dead Ends you may face in Leadership:
- Your best leadership strategy plateaus.
- A leader in whom you have invested leaves your church or organization.
- One of the key leaders in your ministry has a moral failure.
- The person you are discipling stops meeting with you.
- Your budget gets cut…again.
- Recruitment of new mentors is stalled.
What do you do when you reach your very own personal leadership Dead End? Instead of making quick uninformed decisions, let me suggest five actions – rather than reactions – for you to consider.
- Take time to reflect. Take inventory of where you are before you push the panic button. Ecclesiastes 5:1-3, Luke 18:9-8
- Take time to pray. Get alone with God. Cry out to Him for answers before you talk to people. Dan. 6:10-11, James 5:13, Matt. 7:7-11, Luke 18:1-8
- Take time to read. Go to the Word of God and find His promises or mandates relevant to your situation. Deut. 17:18-20, Psalm 1, 1 Pet. 1:22-25
- Take time to talk. Seek out the wise counsel of those who have walked these paths before. Proverbs 20:18, Proverbs 27:6, Ecclesiastes 12:9-14, Exodus 18
- Take time to plan. Once you have gathered counsel from God’s Word and trusted friends, then plan your next few steps. Joshua 3:5, Luke 22:39-46, Psalm 119:105-112
We all face Dead Ends in our leadership at some point but the goal is to define them by the way we respond and not to be defined by them.
